Transom construction for boats



Nov. 24, 1953 E. s. SWENSON TRANSOM CONSTRUCTION FOR BOATS Filed Dec. 21, 1951 IN VEN TO 2/ m1 ArfaF/VfKS Patented Nov. 24, 1953 TRANSOM CONSTRUCTION FOR BOATS Erich S. Swenson, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to Flour City Ornamental Iron 00., Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of, Minnesota Application December-21 1951, Serial No. 262,713

7 Claims. (Cl; 114-182) My invention relates generally to boat con-' struction and more particularly to row boat hulls and the like which are adapted for use with outboard motors.

In larger sized row boats and outboard runabouts which are built to accommodate outboard motors having a relatively high horsepower rating, the hulls are generally relatively wide and deep at the stern so as to provide 'suflicient buoyancy to properly support large heavy outboard motors.- In keeping with the design of these-boats, the transoms thereof are usually sufliciently highto prevent water from washing forwardly'thereover when the boat is running slowly in a-following sea or when driven backwardly through the water. The use of large powerful outboard motors for trolling is not always practical for several reasons, themost com- 111011 being. that the larger motors do not operate smoothly and efiloiently at a slow' trolling speed. Hence, in many instanc'ea'two motors are used, a relatively large powerful motor for driving the boat to and from the fishing grounds and a smaller motor of relatively'low horsepower for trolling over the fishing grounds.

these smaller motors have relatively short drive shafts and drive shaft housingswhich no notpermit the propellers to be properly immersed Generally,

when the motors are mounted on the relatively high'transoms of the larger boats. In order to overcome this difficulty, the upper edge portions of the transoms are cut down or lowered at least' at their central portions to permit lower mount- .ing of-the motors and proper immersion of th fishing motor propellers;

ling speeds with a following wind, waves tend to When the upper edge. portion of the transom is thus cut away or low-f ered and-the boat is used in rough water at trolhousing particularly when the boat is driven backwardly through the water. Hence, another important object of my invention is the provision of a transom structure which is extremely rigid and which imparts a maximum strength to the stern end of a boat hull. 1

Another object of my invention is the provision of a transom structure of the type set forth having deflecting means for guiding and directing. the flow of water washing over the transom in a manner to effectively prevent the water from reaching the bottom of the boat.

-' 'In accordance with the present invention, I,

' provide a transom' structure defining an upwash over the relatively shallow portion'of the,

transom; If bailing is not resorted .to, sufficient water may accumulate in the boat from this cause to develop very undesirable or hazardous condition. A primary object of my invention;

is ftherefore, the provision of a boat hull; having a'transom of a height to accommodatea normal fishing ,motor and of, meansffor.automatically disposing of f wa'ter"which may wash overf the Infthe .designingfand"building moanin .of the ,type; herein, described, ,diiiiculty is? A countered in providing a transomlof su'fiic ent wardly opening forwardly projecting inboard channel which extends transversely of the hull. the bottom and front wall of the channel being rigidly secured to the opposite sides of the hull- The bottom wall of the water-receiving channel is disposed above the normal water line of the hull and passages communicating with the bottom portion of the channel and the exterior of the hull providefor rapid drainage of water from the channel; A deflecting flange or lip efiectively prevents water from splashing over the front wall of the channel into the interior of the boat and confines the Water to the channel from which it is drained through said passages.

' Another object of the invention is the provision of brace means intermediate the ends of said channel for imparting rigidity to the walls thereof. The above and still further important objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification, appended claims, and attached drawings.

; .Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the invention, and in which like characters indicate like -parts'throughout the several views:

Fig.1 is a fragmentary top plan view of the stem end of'a boat built in accordance with my, invention; 7 T 1 v 7 Fig; 2 is a vertical section through the tran-:

'som of the boat of Figsl taken substantially on the line 2+2 of Fig. 3; i I i Fig. 3 'is a transverse section taken substantially on the line 3 30f Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary transverse section taken substantially on the line t-t of Fig. 1; and

rigidity and strength Ito;feffectivelyldampiennib-f at vibrations ortoIwiths'tand shock page r ng] posed thereonfby thestriking of a rock or other Submerged ebict brib P eller qr. P o l er.

Fig.5 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

In the preferred embodiment, of the invention illustrated; the stern end portion of a row boat is indicated in its entirety by the numeral t. The boat may be made from any suitable material, but in the embodiment illustrated, is shown as being fabricated from sheet metal formed to provide a bottom 2 and opposed sides 3, one of which is shown. A transom 4 extends across the stern of the boat and is provided along its bottom and side edge portions with an inturned flange 5 that is secured to the bottom and side wall portions: of the. boat hull; by; rivets or; the; like '6. The hull is further provided with the conventional keel l which is riveted or otherwise rigidly secured to the central portion of the bottom 2 and extends longitudinallypf; the boat. in the customary manner. Gunwales 8, one of which is shown, terminate at their rear end's in handle-forming members 9"suitably secured: to the side walls 3 and the opposite end" portions of the transom 4.

With particular reference to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be seen that the transom t, for the greater part of its length, is of substantially less height tharr'theside'wailsztn An exterior. motor: sup:- portlor clamping plate ldisfrigidly securedl to? the' outer wall of'thetransom: at its:transverse; central portion by suitable" meanssuch. as nut equipped bolts or. the-slike: I l and. an interior. mos tor support I2 is bolted. or. otherwiseerigidly'seecured =to. theinterior. wall of: the transom. ltalong the=upper edge portionzthereof. With;refs-rema-v to Fi'gs. 1 andz3, it'will be: seen thatitheinterior; motor support it extends almost but not: quite; the entire width oftthe transom 4 and; a: molding-:1 or trim stri [32 coverss'tlieeuppe'rt edgeof the. transom: i and1the interior. motor? supportt ll;

An angulari'member. It extends across the; entire: width" of the; hull and' cooperates" with the upper portion of: the transom-r l tQ=.pI0.Vi1E a' transversely extending; channel 55: having a' front wall.16,.abottomiformingiwazllill, and a: rear; wall. l8. The bottom; forming wall ll' of the :angular. member: I l, along: its-rear edge? pore tion', is bentto provider antupturnedrfiange [5 that is-rigidly" secured'ztoi the transom by: spaced. rivets or thei like:28; see'Eig 5:. The. flange l9 terminates adj acent. the lower portion? of the interior. motorisupport l2. between which? and the transomtwalli i is inserted a: sheet .2 of cushion-.- ing: and sound-deadening material. such as; rube 1' her, corlggorrthe like. llnitlie preferredembodimerit; of the invention, herein. illustrated; the reari'wall lSIofzthechannel l51is; actually formedi by theupper portion of the. transom: Wall i, thefiange l9, and the interior motor support l2; It. shouldzbesappreoiatedf however, that therchannelrlfiscould' b'eformedby a cross-sectionally U.-'-- shaped; channel member having itSi rearxwall Se:- cured to; and: directly? against. the; inner. surface: of; the transom; wall. it. and; in: which instance, thetback wall of said. U-shaped. channel+form=- ing member: would-'bmome pa rtrof; the :transomi walli The: opposites endssof". theifitont-an'dbottom chaznnelxwalla llrespectively, are; provided with respective flanges 22 and;-.Z3;.one* of; each: of which-5 is; shown, thatsare; rivetedfior otherwise: rigidly secured to; the opposite: side: walls 3, see particularly Fig. 4.;

Withparticular:referencesto.-Fig. 2, .it will be seen that the bottom' channel: w-a'll; i1 slopes downwardly towardthestransomwall 4. A. plurality of. laterally spaced" drain. passages.- Zd are. formed: byeyelets.- or the: like. 25. extending through'thefian'ge ieandthe transom 3. It'will. b'e further noted tiiatthebotto'm wall I? of the channel l 5" and the-- drain passages 2 3 are dis posed-an appreciable distance above the normal waterline of the liull; said water lineb'eing *indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 by the broken line XX. From the above, it should be obvious that water washing over the top of the transom 4 will drop into the channel l5 and be drained to the exterior of the hull through the passages 24 and be prevented from dropping to the floor or bottom of the boat where it would otherwise cause discomfOItiOt'liGiOCOllIJflhtS and; if'ipermitted to accumulate, would make the-boat unduly heavy and ultimately cause the boat to founder.

To insure against incoming water flowing over theiront wall. I Rofthe channel It), I provide deflecting means in the nature of a rearwardly curved deflectingdip zfi integrally formed with the upperedgeportion of the front wall It. The lip 26 extends the" entire length of channel [5 and: in..addition.todeflecting the water backwardly toward the rear wall E8 of the channel also=serves=as a reinforcement for the front wall l6 whereby to help in providing a rigid structure: With. this arrangement, water which comesforwardly over? the'transom wall 4 and. strikingthefront wall. It in amanner' to causethe same to move upwardly thereagainstwill be guided rearwardly and. downwardly, by the lip 2.8- toward: the bottom. of: the channel from whence. it.will.. escapethrough the. drain pas,-

sages 24'.v

As-ai further. aid in providing. rigidity to the" transom and channel structur.e,- .I. provide a pair of laterally spaced brace members- 21 rigidly secured at their rear. endportionsto the interior motor sup-port [land the transom wall 4 bynutequipped bolt-s or the like-28 andriveted at its :bottom and front portions to: therbottom and front walls respectively of the channel !5. A sternknee 29 extends-generally vertically between the rear endportion of thekeel. i and the bottom wall I! of thewchannel i5 towhich it is suitably secured. at. its upper end. Atv its lower.

end, the knee: 29.- is:secured.- to. the rear. end. of

thexkeel. I: through thebottornof the hull byrivetsor the like 38.- Alongits rear edge portion, the. knee/2'9 issecured to the transom by nutequipped .bolts or the like-3b extending through the exterior motor supporting platelB-thereby binding; the transom wall 4 therebetween.

The. above-described:arrangement imparts extreme. rigidity and'strengthto the rear end of any boat of thistype and is=particularly beneficial inboats fabricated from sheet metal. By use. of the above structure, I.have been able to reduce. to. a minimum.the amount of. motor vibration transferred to. the sides. and=bottom of the boatby the transomandthe possibility of water gaining access tothe interior oftheboat from. causesi hereinbefore mentioned. have been virtually eliminated;

While.- Ifhave shown and? described a commercial: embodiment of my novel boat construction, it will beunderstood that'thesame is capab'le of modification without departure from the spiritf and scope vcf'the invention, as defined in the claims. 7

" What I claim-is;

L, A boatlhullclosed 'atiits'rea'r' end by a transom structure; said transom structure defining a water-tight, forwardly projecting, upwardly opening, inboard channel having spaced front and rear walls and abottom' wall, said channel extending transversely. between and; connecting theopposite' side walls of the hull'an'd having 7 its'bottom'dis'posed abovethebottom of the hull and"; above the normal water line of the hull, said structure providing 'a" water-return passage by a relatively thin sheet metal transom structure, said transom structure defining an upwardly opening inboard channel having front and rear walls and a bottom wall and extending transversely between and connecting the opposite side walls of the hull, said channel having its bottom wall disposed above the normal water line of the hull, a relatively thick motor mounting plate secured to said rear wall and extending transversely of the hull in upwardly spaced relation to said bottom wall, said structure providing a water-return passage from the bottom portion of the channel to the exterior of the hull, and a deflecting lip on the front wall of the channel for reversing the forward flow of water washing over the transom.

4. A boat hull structure closed at its rear end by a transom, an angular member extending transversely between and connecting the opposite side walls of the hull, said angular member having a flange along one longitudinal edge rigidly secured to the inner wall of said transom, said member defining front and. bottom walls of a transversely extended channel the rear wall of which is defined by the upper portion of said transom, said bottom wall being disposed above the normal water line of the hull, a water-return passage leading from the bottom portion of said channel to the exterior of the hull, and a deflecting lip on the front wall of the channel for reversing the forward flow of Water washing over said transom.

' 5. A boat hull structure closed at its rear end by a relatively thin sheet metal transom, an angular member extending transversely between and connecting the opposite side walls of the hull, said angular member having a flang along one longitudinal edge rigidly secured to the inner wall of said transom, said member defining front and bottom walls of a transversely extended channel the rear wall of which is defined by the upper portion of said transom, said bottom wall being disposed above the normal water line of the hull, a water-return passage leading from the bottom portion of said channel to the exterior of the hull, a relatively thick motor mounting plate secured to the inner wall of said transom and extending transversely of the hull in upwardly spaced relation to said bottom wall, and adeflecting lip on the front wall of the channel for reversing the forward flow of water washing over the transom.

6. A boat hull comprising bottom and side wall portions and closed at its rear end by a transom structure; said transom structure defining a water-tight, forwardly projecting, upwardly opening inboard channel having rigid front, rear and bottom wall portions extending transversely between and connecting the opposite side wall portions of the hull, said channel having its bottom wall disposed above the bottom wall portion of the hull and above the normal water line of the hull, the front and bottom wall portions of said channel being continuous and unbroken throughout their length, one of said wall portions defining an opening for the passage of Water from the bottom portion of the channel to the exterior of the hull.

7. The structure defined in claim 6 in further combination with a knee secured to said transom and the bottom of the hull and supporting said channel intermediate its ends, and a forwardly extending brace member within said channel and connecting the front, rear and bottom walls thereof.

ERICH S. SWENSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,572,074 Nelson Feb. 9, 1926 1,659,580 Weller Feb. 21, 1928 1,900,180 Harvey Mar. 7, 1933 2,392,834 Clement, Jr. Jan. 15, 1946 2,572,623 Hoppenstand Oct. 23, 1951 2,585,344 Plaziak Feb. 12, 

